Deepawali: A Festival for Conversion

The Catholic Church joins our Hindu brothers and sisters in wishing you all a ‘Happy Diwali’. We pray that God, who is light and love, will remove the darkness of sin from our lives.

All of the simple rituals of Diwali have significance and a story behind them. Homes are illuminated with lights, and firecrackers fill the skies as an expression of respect to the heavens for attaining health, wealth, knowledge, peace, and prosperity.

According to one belief, the sound of firecrackers indicates the joy of the people living on earth, making the gods aware of their plentiful state. Still, another possible reason has a more scientific basis: the fumes produced by the firecrackers kill or repel many insects, including mosquitoes, which are plentiful after the rains.

Beyond the lights, firecrackers and fun, Diwali is a time of conversion. In each legend, myth, and story of Deepawali lies the significance of the victory of good over evil. Deepawali like the Christian Easter calls for conversion, transformation, and change of attitude.

Religious festivals like Deepawali, Easter and Eid al Fitr (Muslim Festival) are not merely religious symbols that belong to the religious realm. I believe that such religious feasts have fundamental messages for all human beings about the deeper and ultimate purpose of our life.

The Catholic Church’s teachings encourage Catholics to enter ever more deeply into dialogue with the religions of the world. She sees dialogue as an act of love which has its roots in God himself. The Catholic tradition believes that together we can achieve much for the good of the world. We can learn each religion’s festivals and symbols how to overcome evil in the world.

Fiji is blessed with a multi-religious context. Fijians can reflect on our rich religious symbols to provide for us effective pathways to reconciliation, dealing with drugs, domestic violence, climate change and other social problems.

May we turn God’s light expressed through the Diwali lights to help us change our world.